Big 92.7FM to syndicate content to Asian FM in the US

Big 92.7FM is looking at revenue sources beyond the traditional. The private FM player has signed up to provide content to the US based radio station, Asian FM, which caters to the South Asian community out there.

Banad N Viswanath, president, Asian FM, talking about the relationship with BIG 92.7 FM, says, "Being the only provider of 24 hours of Asian music, we wished to do something for the Indian community in the US; we wished to bring the true picture of India, to the people living in the US. On that note, we found the content of BIG 92.7 FM suitable."

Jayyant Bhokare, vice-president, business development, Big FM, says, “The target being South Asians, there are many similarities in terms of what needs to be delivered there. People back in the US want to hear a lot of India – whether humour, devotion, television or Bollywood, and I am sure this is going to be received very well back there.”

This is a first of its kind deal for Big FM, and the radio player is now eyeing other markets such as West Asia, Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia.

Asian FM was launched in 2003 as a 24-hour radio station. The station broadcasts all kinds of Indian music, from Bollywood to devotional. It also airs local, national and international news, including cricket coverage, and promotes live shows. The station now plans to have language specific programmes in Urdu, Gujarati, Punjabi and Bengali.

Asian FM reaches the South Asian/PIO population in 5 regions: Long Island (NY), Atlanta (GA), Houston (TX), Detroit (MI), and Chicago (IL). Finally, in February of this year Dr. Viswanath launched Asian FM USA, which is a subscriber-based radio channel on Dish Network (Echostar). The channel covers the entire United States through the satellite service. The two radio networks are the first Indian-owned radio networks in the U.S.